Steering the Course - A focus on women's sailing
Published 10:20 on 21 May 2021
First up is Debbie Degge, here is her sailing story. We hope you enjoy it.
I'm retired, 1.6 m tall and approx. 51 kg, just to show that you don't have to be big and strong. I have sailed for many years and I am still passionate about it, whereas my classmate Nicky from school is just starting to learn at Bartley, beginning her sailing adventure and learning with Women on the Water.
Why Bartley S.C. - well it's a reservoir for drinking water so it's got to be pretty clean, it's a reasonable size considering it's in Birmingham, and the wind is fairly steady. It also has a nice warm clubhouse for changing and getting refreshments.
How did my love of sailing start - I read Swallows and Amazon's as a child, and as a teenager was taken out in a dinghy one evening and I was hooked, a sailor at a local club needed an occasional crew and this accelerated my learning process. At the time I just had a cheap cagoule, and a beginners sailing book from the library where a boat was depicted as a bar of soap which needed a centreboard for forward momentum.
I wanted to be the helm, so worked and bought my own Laser, and while I enjoyed sailing at my local club, friends and I started to enjoy travelling to compete at different clubs and in different classes of boat, firstly in the UK and then abroad to Norway, Finland, Holland, Spain and Germany. I have been fortunate to win many Trophies but one of the best prizes for a Nationals was a holiday to Greece for 4 people, where I took my family as thanks for their support.
One weekend you can be sailing with beginners and on another you could sail against Olympic champions, there are not many sports where you can do that.
Whether racing or not, there is nothing more pleasurable than messing about in boats.
Want to know more about sailing and water sports at Bartley Sailing Club? Just contact us via our Facebook or website www.bartleysailingclub.com. We have a very active sailing, SUP and Windsurfing programme and many training opportunities offered through our partner Andrew Simpson Centre Birmingham based at the club.
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Last updated 16:57 on 21 April 2025
